Mad World
by Shiro Chigo
Summary: When the stage simulation machine in the mansion malfunctions the fighters find themselves trapped in an alternate dimension where things only in imagination exist. Where is the way back home in this mad, mad world? Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 "Moment of Reprieve"**

* * *

_"It's only been two hours..."_ thought Ike. He set his sword, Ragnell in the ground so that it stood up as he took a seat down by the base of a tree. The grass beneath him felt cool and a bit like fuzz. There were many trees scattered around the area which resembled a forest but an unfamiliar one. The sun was gone and the dusk had settled in already. Ike placed a hand on his forehead and sighed in frustration. He had no idea where in the hell he was. Even worse... He couldn't remember exactly what happened. The Stage Replication Machine or S.R.M. malfunctioning... Shaking and rumbling like an earthquake... He could remember glass breaking and the sound of electrical abnormalities in the system. He even remembered screams...

"Ike?" asked a voice. Ike looked up to see a glowing light behind some trees. Out of the shadows came Ness who was using his PK Flash ability to temporary use as a lantern. His right hand was glowing green and that was what he was using to light the way. He seemed to be a bit dirty from running out in this wild forest following Ike. The swordsman nodded towards the boy.

"Sorry... I just thought I heard someone's voice out here. I thought we could find someone we knew," he replied. Ness shook his head.

"Don't run off like that! You scared me for a second," said Ness. He, however, smiled at Ike because they regrouped once again. He understood why Ike had been a bit reckless earlier. They seemed to be trapped here in this strange place and it was growing darker by the second. Ike stood up and pulled Ragnell out of the ground. He wanted to keep moving to try to find the others but it was too dark to see. Even Ness' PK Flash had its limits. Ike was very cautious, however. Who knew what was out here... They hadn't seen any signs of life other than each other. After the event of two hours ago the two were stuck here alone. Though Ike's memory was fuzzy... Ness could remember it clearly because he wasn't caught in the explosion directly like Ike had been. The young boy sighed as images appeared in his thoughts...

* * *

"PK Thunder!" shouted Ness. His body was charged with electricity as he concentrated to form a ball of lightning that was to propel him back onto the floating platform of the Halberd stage. Ike was dealing with Luigi who was armed with a Beam Sword. An experienced swordsman and a... Somewhat wimpy plumber... Who would win?

"Come on! Hit me!" taunted Ike. Luigi wasn't entirely sure what to do. After sending Fox off of the Halberd to take away his last stock of life... He was faced with Ike and Ness. Though not as good of a plumber as his older brother, Mario, Luigi was still a very smart person. He knew how Ike fights... And knew that he wasn't to fall for anything Ike said. Ike had good countering abilities... Which could very well spell the end for him if he went to strike him now.

"I... I'm gonna..." muttered Luigi. He spoke in a rather soft voice which wasn't audible to Ike because of the roaring sounds of the Halberd in the background. Ike stuck his left little finger in his left ear to try to help cure his aching ears.

_"I can't stand how loud this stage is,"_ thought Ike. Ness successfully made it back onto the platform above the flying platform where Ike and Luigi were standing. Ike noticed this but wasn't sure what the boy was going to do. He was wary of both and now all three of them seem to be tense. All of them had taken a large amount of damage and if either Ness or Luigi were to lose... The other would be left to deal with Ike who still had two lives left in this match. It was then that something strange happened...

"... Huh?" said Ness. Ike looked up towards Ness without moving his head but he also picked up what the young boy did. The noise... The noise was gone... The Halberd was still flying in the background but... It was quiet. Luigi seemed to notice as well and seemed a bit spooked by this.

"Oh...? What's wrong?" he asked. Ness shrugged.

"I have no idea... Whoa!" he cried. He fell down on his behind as his eyes shifted towards the battleship. Ike turned his head to see what shocked Ness so badly. The Halberd normally had a set pattern to which it traveled when anyone entered this stage. It would repeat and repeat as long as the match was still going on... But now the face of the Halberd was very large to them because... It was headed straight for them! Luigi let out a cry of terror and Ness scrambled to get up. Ike was caught off-guard and wasn't able to respond in time. The Halberd made a head-on collision with the floating platform to which they were using as their stage. It wasn't an incredible impact like it actually should have been. The platform was only tilted as the Halberd gently but forcefully pushed it. The stage began to surge with electricity. This was incredibly abnormal and the system was beginning to malfunction greatly. Luigi had fallen off of the platform and down towards the forest beneath. The other two could only hear his cries or terror as he fell. Ike had stuck Ragnell into the platform to hold himself up and he had grabbed onto Ness' hand with his free arm. Though they were both surprised they couldn't lose their cool. The whole simulation seemed to have frozen.

"W-What's happening?" asked Popo. The other fighters who were in the audience outside of the simulation area were horrified. Nana was frightened and stood behind her brother only peeking out from behind him to continue speculating. Zelda stood up from her seat towards the front and braced herself.

"Something must have happened to the S.R.M. That can't be... That machine has never failed before," she said to herself. Diddy Kong began to panic and began to run around the stands flailing his arms. Samus, who wasn't wearing her Power Suit, stood up also and checked her surroundings. No one in their right mind would ever try to mess with the S.R.M. Everyone here knew how important it was to the Smash Mansion. A red light appeared overhead on the ceiling and an alarm rang out. Peach gasped.

"No! The alarm was set off! The doors will be sealed!" she cried. Samus was already dashing for the double doors but they were closed. The doors here were electronic and would not function unless the systems were normal. Only a couple of fighters were in the Audience Hall while everyone else was in the mansion. Everyone would surely panic or become alert with the alarms set off. Samus was concerned with trying to get out but Zelda was more worried for the fighters stuck inside the Stage Simulator. Luigi had fallen off the platform and Ike and Ness were stuck.

"What can we do?" asked Peach. Samus shook her head as she walked back towards the stands.

"We can't get out... The doors are locked and they can't be destroyed using physical means. Master Hand made sure that we couldn't break much in the mansion," she replied. Popo and Nana quickly hurried towards the two women as Diddy calmed down. He stood by Zelda with a confused expression on his face. Zelda noticed and looked down at him.

"Don't worry. We'll get them out of here just as soon as-" said Zelda. Before she could finish there was a loud sound. Everyone heard it and froze. It was a loud crack. Zelda turned her head slowly towards the large glass barrier between the Audience Hall and the Stage Simulator to see that... An incredibly large crack had appeared. Diddy, being very quick with his reflexes, threw himself at Zelda to knock her out of the way. The glass shattered and many shards of sharp glass began flyin gin all direction.

"Look out everyone!" cried Samus. Everyone turned around and shielded themselves from the glass. Ike and Ness suddenly saw a rectangular shape appear a couple feet from the platform and saw the Audience Hall. Ness gasped.

"What the heck?!" he cried. When Ness reacted to the glass shattering the static on the platform became violent and shocked Ike and Ness. Both of them let out cries of pain as electricity surged through their bodies. The Halberd's engines suddenly began to roar as the battleship pushed the platform over until it was upsidedown. Ragnell could no longer hold its owner on the platform and it slipped out of the slit Ike made and the both of them felt themselves begin to drop.

"Hold on, kid!" shouted Ike. The both of them plummeted down from the platform and down towards the trees below. Ness was screaming as he fell and Ike was busy looking up towards the Halberd. The ship's engines didn't seem to be enough to break the platform... So the boosters were used and with a loud sound the Halberd broke through the platform and broke it into many pieces. The Halberd flew away and disappeared amongst the clouds. There was a strange light left behind where the platform was but Ike couldn't see it anymore because there was an incredibly large explosion that broke out where it was. It was then that he felt his consciousness slip away with a powerful wave of pain that spread throughout his body.

* * *

"... So... What do you want to do, Ike?" asked Ness. The boy had only this one adult person here with him and he thought it was best to listened to Ike.

"... I honestly don't know... But Luigi fell down here with us and I don't know what might have happened to Fox but... We have to look for him," replied the swordsman. Ness nodded in agreement. The stage was normally in an afternoon-like period in time no matter how long the match went but time seemed to have been passing by normally here. Ike noticed this as he began to walk through the trees with Ness behind him. As they were walking they had noticed in the darkness some pieces of the metal platform that was destroyed. Some had impaled some trees and even cut a few down. The force of the explosion must have been incredible to do something like this.

"Geez... I'm a bit glad that we fell off before the Halberd before that explosion happened," said Ness. He used his free hand to fix the positioning of his hat. Ike continued to walk with Ragnell at the ready. He didn't respond to Ness but he did hear him. The young boy made a slight face and felt a bit nervous. Ike must still be recovering from the trauma. After all he did take the brunt of that electric shock... And then again he probably has had worse from Pikachu or Zelda. Ness smiled to himself at this thought but then accidentally bumped into Ike. "Ike?" he asked. The swordsman hushed Ness.

"... Do you hear that?" he asked. Ness stopped and let his ears open. The wind came and rustled some trees. It seemed to be distracting him from whatever Ike had heard. Ike held Ragnell with both of his hands and pointed it in front of him. Ness lowered the brightness of his PK Flash to the shine of a simple candle. It looked like a small star was at the tip of his right index finger. There was the sound.

"... What is it?" asked Ness. The sound was low but it wasn't too fuzzy. It sounded almost like whirring... Like the gears of a machine. Ness gulped.

"Try not to make any sounds," warned Ike. Ness nodded. The two of them took large but quiet steps but they weren't exactly sure where they were going. Would it be more reasonable to go towards the sound or away from it? Ike continued to walk as he debated this. Ness could only follow. It was then that there was a loud rumbling sound that shook the dirt beneath their feet.

"Whoa!" cried Ness. He lost his balance and fell down on the ground. Ike braced himself and managed to stay standing. The magnitude of this shaking was strong but not like an earthquake. It reminded him of when Donkey Kong slapped his large hands on the ground to cause a small quake. The sound of wood breaking would be heard as well as the rustling of leaves. Ike looked up and saw the tops of some trees fall over. He immediately reacted by grabbing on the back of Ness' shirt and running at full speed away from their location. Ness cried out in surprise as the rumbling ensued. Whatever was making that sound seemed to have heard them. That rumbling... It was a footstep of something enormous. Ike jumped past trees and some elevated and descending bits of land that came his way. The footsteps became lower and lower as he ran. Whatever was following them must have been very slow.

"Can you still hear it?" asked Ike. He let go of Ness gently back on the ground. The boy seemed a bit dazed and shook his head to recollect himself. He turned around and watched the treetops. He also stopped to listen carefully.

"... No... I don't hear it anymore. We probably escaped it," said Ness. Ike nodded.

"Damn it... Where in the hell are we?" asked the swordsman. Ness shook his head.

"Don't curse... We'll find out where we are. Don't worry."

"... Cursing is the last problem we should be dealing with."

"Right... It's still a bad thing to do, though," said Ness. The boy shook his head once more. Ike sighed and turned around. He placed Ragnell over his shoulders while holding it with his right hand.

"Come on then... We still need to find Luigi."

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 "Black Out****"**

* * *

There was a cold draft coming in. Fox's ears twitched at the chill of the breeze and that caused him to wake up. His eyes were shut and his whole body felt heavy. He opened his eyes to see that he was still in the hallway of the West Wing of the mansion. He blinked his eyes a few times.

_"What...? I blacked out?"_ he asked himself in thought. He pulled himself together and stood up. He rubbed the back of his head and took a look around his immediate area. The nightstand had toppled over nearby and the flower vase that stood on it was on the ground in pieces. Water had stained the carpet and the flowers were lying around it in a disheveled mess. He turned around to see that the window was broken. Pieces of glass were sticking out on the ground and he immediately took a step back. Did he hit his head off the window or something? It certainly felt like it when he woke up. His head was throbbing. He had no idea how in the world that would ever happen. Maybe someone broke in through the window and crashed into him? That would explain the fallen nightstand.

_"Huh...? What's that sound?"_ he said to himself. He could hear a faint sound in the distance. It was coming from inside the mansion for sure but the lights weren't on. The power seemed to have been cut as well. Fox tapped the side of his head where his scouter was and it activated. It allowed him to be able to see in the dark with its nightvision application.

_"Alright... Be stealthy... Be cautious and above all... Remember to do barrel rolls,"_ thought Fox. He started walking down the hallway that lead away from the West Wing. After a minute or two of walking he made it to the parlor's second floor. He looked down at the entrance to the mansion which were a large pair of double doors. The doors were safely locked and that seemed to reassure him somewhat. He walked down the curved staircase and went through the only hallway down on the first floor of the parlor. This particular hallway was much bigger than the rest of the halls in the mansion as it lead out into the North and East Wings. To the east was the kitchen and dining area. To the west were the dormitories which housed each and every fighter here in the mansion. The north area was recreational. It had a large living room as well as a game room and a door leading out back which held the Battle Dome. That was where the fights where to take place. Fox seemed a bit spooked. _"Where is everyone?"_ he asked himself. He avoided talking out loud simply because he couldn't ignore the fact that someone could have broken into the mansion. If someone did... Then the alarms in the household would surely be set off but they weren't. As he made it towards the kitchen he heard the sound of water dropping. It was probably coming from the sink. He walked through the entrance to see that the kitchen was an absolute mess. The cupboard doors were open and pots and pans were littered all over the ground. Fragile plates had shattered into pieces all over the floor as if a bulldozer went right through the house. He turned to his left to see the kitchen table move only in position. It wasn't easily toppled apparently. He walked over to the sink and turned the right faucet off to stop the dripping water. It was then he heard someone groan.

"Ugh..." said the voice. Fox drew his blaster out of its holster and held it in both hands. The sound seemed to be coming from the dining room which was to the right. He carefully tiptoed into the dining hall. He could feel cold air hit his face as he walked in. He turned to his left to see the source on the far side of the room. The tall windows that revealed the garden to the west were shattered. Glass shards hung off of their respective windows and a couple continued to fall as the wind blew in. He looked back to the incredibly large, rectangular table that stood in the center of the Dining Hall. The tablecloth was still on top of the table but was holding pieces of glass now. Several chairs had been toppled and were lying around sporadically. There was also something that caught Fox's eye.

_"What is that?"_ he asked himself in thought. Towards the middle of the table he could see what looked like a notebook. Some of its pages had fallen on the ground and he could see some bright colors on it. Colorful crayons were also scattered on the ground nearby as well. He then saw what he thought was a very large, pink ball...

"Ow..." said the voice. That voice was familiar and Fox lowered his blaster.

".... Jigglypuff?" he asked. Jigglypuff jumped up with a loud noise. She seemed to have been frightened out of her mind.

"W-Who's there?!" she asked. She was actually being quite loud...

"Don't worry. It's me. It's Fox," he replied. Jigglypuff sighed as she landed on the ground lightly. She looked down on the ground to see her pictures and drawings all over the place.

"Urgh... What happened in here? I can barely remember anything," said Jigglypuff. Fox walked over to her and helped her pick up some of her belongings.

"You're not hurt are you?" he asked. Jigglypuff nodded.

"No. I'm alright" she replied. She picked up some of her drawings and placed them back into her sketchbook. Luckily, only a couple had been blown out by the wind. Fox managed to get all of her crayons and placed them in their container, a crayon box, which was underneath a nearby chair.

"Was anyone else here with you?" asked Fox. The Balloon Pokemon shook her head and fixed her single curled strand of hair.

"No. I came here alone. They were being a little too rowdy out in the Battle Dome and I needed a quite place to draw a little," she replied. She looked up at him and blinked. "Why? Is no one else around?"

"... No. I didn't hear anyone in the mansion when I was walking through it."

"That's strange... Not everyone was in the Battle Dome today."

"Hm... Let's go look for the others. I think we should stick together on this one. Who knows what could be going on in here," said Fox. Jigglypuff nodded in agreement. They couldn't afford to be on their own and an increase in numbers will ensure safety even if it's only a little. Jigglypuff carried her sketchbook in one hand and her small crayon box in the other. Fox seemed a bit worried about this. If she dropped her things and there really was an intruder in the mansion then their position would be revealed.

"Hey, Jigglypuff?" he asked. The Balloon Pokemon looked up at him.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could find a place to safely store your sketchbook and stuff?" he asked. She nodded.

"I could but we'd have to go back to the dormitories. My room is on the second floor of the West Wing so it won't take too long," she replied. Fox nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll find someone on the way... And hopefully someone we know," said Fox. They both headed back towards the kitchen while avoiding all of the glass and fallen kitchen utensils. Fox went first with his blaster to check the entrances and hallways. Jigglypuff made sure not to stray to far behind and only move whenever Fox had given her the signal that the coast was clear. They rushed down the large hallway towards the parlor.

_"Something weird is going on here..."_ thought Jigglypuff. _"Even if something bad happened... Wouldn't Master Hand be out of his study?"_

"Stop," said Fox. He spoke in a rushed but soft tone as he halted Jigglypuff. Fox stood behind the nightstand in the hall which was big enough to hide the both of them. Jigglypuff was startled but didn't make a sound.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a hushed tone. Fox pointed towards the parlor. Jigglypuff tilted her head to peek out from behind the nightstand and looked out where Fox directed her. She let out a gasp and took a step back. The front doors... They were open. The left door was closed but the right one was wide open. Cold air from the outside was coming in. They were locked when Fox passed the parlor only about five minutes ago.

"Fox... What time was it when you came to get me?" she asked. Fox turned to her.

"I was sure it was around 3:00 PM when I decided to go back to rest from fighting..." he replied. Jigglypuff's face turned slightly pale.

"... It's like night time outside..." she replied. Fox hadn't seemed to notice this change in time. He looked out towards the door and saw that it was pitch black outside. There may have been no light in the mansion but there seemed to have been a dim light coming from outside. At first they both seemed to have assumed it was simply the moon shining outside... But they weren't sure what time it was. Fox gestured for Jigglypuff to stay behind the nightstand and she nodded her head. Holding his blaster tightly in his hands Fox slowly took steps towards the parlor. His footsteps were barely audible against the carpet. He felt a cold chill crawl up his spine as he neared the parlor. He hopped over directly into the parlor area and quickly examined the area. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary aside from the open door. He turned around and signaled for Jigglypuff to move. She nodded and began to walk towards his position but then an incredibly loud sound rang out.

"Eek!" she cried. She fell forward and dropped her sketch book. She managed to keep a a hold of her crayon box which would have been bothersome if dropped. Fox instantly turned around his his blaster at the ready. He was shocked at the sound but had to keep his cool... Somehow. He saw that the previously opened door had slammed shut. Was someone here?

"Quick!" cried Fox. Jigglypuff ran forward, grabbed her sketchbook and jump at Fox. He caught her and then sped towards his left and up the stairs as fast as he could. They weren't alone here and he couldn't risk fighting whoever or whatever it was by himself without knowing what it was. Jigglypuff kept her arms around his neck as Fox ran. He sped down the hallway with all of his might. Jigglypuff quickly told him which door it was before he began passing them.

"It's the sixth door you'll pass! It has the Pokemon emblem and my name on it!" she cried. Fox kept this in mind as he went past the first two doors. He suddenly skidded to a stop. There was the Pokemon emblem with her name. He grabbed a hold of the doorknob, turned it, opened the door and sped inside. He turned around quickly to shut the door but Jigglypuff had been thrown off of him. Fox shut the door and locked it. Jigglypuff merely landed slowly on her bed.

"Phew... Thank goodness," said Fox. Jigglypuff was gasping for air. Her heart seemed to be beating very quickly from the scares earlier.

"Holy..." she uttered. Fox deactivated his scouter and put away his blaster. Jigglypuff pulled out the top drawer of her dresser and quickly tossed her drawing utensils inside and shut it. Her room seemed to be fine. Nothing was broken and everything was intact. Fox felt a bit bad about being in a girl's room but this was Jigglypuff.

"Well... I guess the West Wing wasn't affected as much as the East Wing was," said Fox. Jigglypuff nodded.

"Do you know what's happening?" she asked. Fox shook his head.

"No idea. I blacked out I think. All I could remember was trying to get back to my room and then... I blacked out. I woke up and found the mansion like this," he replied. Jigglypuff had pulled out a small flashlight from her drawer after she put away her sketchbook and crayon box. She turned it out and shined the light around the room. There wasn't anything out of the orindary after all.

"Where should we start looking for people?" she asked. Fox wasn't entirely sure about that one. Everyone seemed to have been scattered...

"Well... The only place I'm sure that people we know are is the Battle Dome. I think... I had heard an alarm go off. It would make sense if it came from there since it was so faint," he replied. "That's probably a good place to start."

"Yes, that sounds good. I hope everyone is alright," said Jigglypuff. She reached for her drawer, pulled it out and took out an extra pair of batteries for her flashlight. Running out of batteries was not a good thought in the mansion's current state. She handed the flashlight and the batteries to Fox. She figured he would have more use then she would since she would rather follow than be leading the way. Fox smiled at her.

"Thanks. Are you ready to-" Fox began. He was cut off when heard three, loud knocks on Jigglypuff's door. He slowly turned around and Jigglypuff hid behind his legs. No one was around. He would have heard them or seen them... And they've only been around for about ten minutes and had seen no signs of life other than each other so... Who could it be...?

* * *

**End of Chapter 2  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 "Sleeping Beauty"

* * *

**"Hey, Ike... I think I see something up ahead," said Ness. The young boy dashed past Ike and went a bit ahead. Ike was feeling exhausted and had to carry Ragnell at the same time. It wasn't a pleasant experience but the current situation seemed to have calmed down. The moon was hovering overhead now and was blurred out by dark and ominous-looking clouds. The wind stopped and the whole area was silent besides their own footsteps and the occasional rustle of trees or bushes. There had been no signs of animals at all. It was like an empty world.

"Don't go to far, kid," said Ike. Ness heard him but was being careful. With the moon out he no longer had to rely on his makeshift lantern. He was holding his bat in his hands to be ready in case something bad happened but he wasn't too worried. The boy stopped and knelt down by the base of a tree. Ike caught up to him after casually following. "What is it?" he asked. Ness pointed at a long and skinny object protruding out of the ground.

"It's a beam sword," he replied. Ike's eyes widened. There was a bladed object there which was letting off a dim blue light. That beam sword could only have been brought here by...

"Luigi," said Ike. His eyes moved left and right and back to check his surroundings. Ness became a bit worried.

"I hope he's okay. He was the first one to fall off of the platform," said Ness. Ike walked over to the sword and pull it out of the ground with his free hand. There was a button by his thumb which he pressed and the blade disappeared. They didn't need anything that would give away their position. Ike then neatly places it in his belt in case they needed it.

"He'll be fine. He's Mario's brother, right?" he asked. Ness nodded.

"I guess you're right. Let's check around here."

"Try not to go too far, kid," said Ike. Ness chuckled at Ike before walking off past the tree where the beam sword was found. Ike propped Ragnell back on his shoulders and continued to follow Ness. The young boy stopped in his tracks and had thought of an idea.

"Hey... I could just jump up onto the treetops. I'll check where we are, okay?" he asked. Ike nodded as he stood by his little friend. Ness held his bat tightly as he crouched down slightly before leaping into the air. His shoes sparkled slightly with a green glow as he traveled through the air. Using his PSI abilities he was able to take another jump that propelled him high into the air. He used his left hand to grab onto a rather thick tree branch and set his feet on an even bigger branch directly beneath it. The leaves on this tree were somewhat large but he easily pushed them aside. He was at the top of this tree which was about... thirty feet in length. Ness was able to see the field of trees surrounded the area.

"Hey! The forest ends just over there!" cried Ness. In the distance was what looked like a large and empty plain covered in short and thin grass. There were patches of ground that seemed be scattered all around it. He was looking in the western direction so now he turned to face north. The forest ended as well but he couldn't see very well. It was way too dark to see any geography so he went to look east. East seemed to be where this forest was prominent. The treetops continued to spread out in that direction. He looked south this time to see something incredible.

"Wow... I can see the ocean from here," said Ness. Though it was dark, the sea was sparkling from the light of the moon. It seemed very close but how could they have been walking for hours and not notice? Ness looked down at the ground to still see Ike waiting and he decided to come down for now. He jumped of the branch and was about to free fall but his PSI abilities kicked in and slowed down his fall. He landed safely and looked up at Ike.

"So where do you think we should go?" asked Ike. Ness seemed a bit puzzled still.

"Well... When I was up there I saw that we could go west out into some plains. The north was too blurred out by the dark that I couldn't see and... East was where we came from. South of her was the ocean but we could walk there in a minute," he replied. Ike blinked.

"What? I didn't see the ocean or hear it. Are you sure?" he asked. Ness nodded. He turned and pointed down south. Ike looked in that direction to see only trees. That was very odd... There wasn't even any room to see the ground or bushes or anything. The both of them walked in that direction and saw that the trees separating them from the ocean were lined up almost too neatly next to each other... There were actually two thick barriers of trees that cut them off from seeing to the other side.

"Strange... Trees don't naturally grow like this. It's like they were deliberately planted in this fashion," said Ike. He put his left hand to his chin to think.

"I don't know what's on the other side... If we tried to go through we might fall down into the water and or... Jagged rocks," warned Ness. The boy shuddered at the thought of falling to a watery grave. Ike placed a hand on the boy's head.

"Do you mind going back up to the treetops to see if there's a way down there?" he asked.

"Uh... Sure," said Ness. The boy jumped back into the air and took a second jump to reach the top of the barrier of trees. The view of the ocean met him again. He looked down and to his surprise there was actually a quiet and sandy shore. The fall from the forest down to the shore was not very long or life-threatening. Ike called out to him.

"Is there something there?" he asked.

"Yeah! There's a beach down there. It goes out west, too so we could just walk along it and-" said Ness. Before he could finish he spotted something. There was a figure lying face-up on the shore. He recognized the color pink and the blond hair...

"What's wrong?" asked Ike. Ness became frantic.

"Ike! I think I found someone! It's the princess!" he cried. Ike's eyes widened.

"Which one? There are two."

"It's Princess Peach for sure!" he replied. Ike drew Ragnell in both of his hands.

"Kid... You better either jump down onto the shore or you might fall down with these trees," he warned. Ness turned around and looked down before leaping backwards off of the treetop. He landed down on the sand with a small sound and headed for the hills. Ike grasped Ragnell's hilt tightly and lifted it above his head.

_"It's about time Ragnell had some action. Even if it's just cutting down some trees,"_ thought Ike. _"Here we go... Great...Aether!"_ The blade he held was suddenly enchanted with fire and was radiating heat and light. He drew his arms back slightly before making a very large arc of fire in front of him. The heat made the cutting power of Ragnell stronger so resistance from the trees strong bases was not a problem. When he was finished there was a straight line going through four trees. It was glowing red to signal that the separated areas were burned. Ragnell's fire extinguished as Ike stood straight up. He propped Ragnell back on his shoulders and heard the rustling of leaves again. The trees were going to fall backward. At first he thought the trees would fall one by one... But we watched as all four of them leaned over backwards and fall at the same time. The trees made a very loud sound as they hit the sand and some of it was kicked up into the air. Ike walked over onto the stumps of the fallen trees, got onto the tree trunks and used it as a sort of ramp to go down on the shore. He cut the large branches in the way off with Ragnell until he made it down.

"Nice one!" said Ness. The boy gave Ike a thumbs up. Ike smirked as he rushed over towards the unconscious princess.

"Yeah. It wasn't a problem. Now hurry up. She could be hurt," he replied. The two of them were now at Peach's side. Ike stuck Ragnell in the ground and knelt down beside her. Her crown had fallen off of her head and was sitting in the sand nearby. Her dress was slightly dirty in that sand was all over it. She seemed to have a couple bruises on her arms and her legs but she didn't seem to be bleeding from anywhere. Hopefully she wasn't bleeding internally either. Ike gently slipped his left head underneath the back of her head and raised her up slightly.

"Hey... Princess? Can you hear me?" he asked. Ness stood behind Ike.

"Do you think I should try to heal her?" he asked. Ike seemed surprised by this.

"You can mend wounds? Like a cleric?" he asked.

"Well sure. It's true that I couldn't do it in matches back at home but I always had the ability to heal. It's just that you've never seen me do it before."

"Okay... I'll let you handle it," said Ike. Ness walked around so he was standing on the other side of Peach and placed his index and middle finger of his right hand to his forehead. A small, glowing light was emitted from them.

"Here I go... Life-Up!" he cried. He pointed his two fingers down at Peach and Ike suddenly felt a warm sensation. Ness seemed to have performed Life-Up on all three of them because all three of them were outlined by a green glow. Ike felt his bruises vanish and his slight headache vanish. Ness smiled. "Not bad, huh?" he asked. Ike shook his head.

"Never knew you could be useful in emergencies."

"Hey... That's not nice," Ness replied. The green glow ended and the two of them felt rejuvenated. They weren't sure about the princess though. Ike tried to talk to her again.

"Hey. Peach. Can you hear me now?" he asked. He finally got some sort of response from her. She made small groans as her eyelids tried to close again as if she was in pain. Ike deduced that it must be because she was unconscious this whole time. Her eyes opened but very narrowly. Her vision was blurred and she couldn't make out the faces of who was nearby.

"Hey... She's waking up," said Ness. Ike was watching her wake up and once Peach's vision returned suddenly she was shocked.

"Eek! Let go of me!" she cried. Her eyes closed tightly as she brought back her right hand and let a right hook slam into Ike's cheek. He was caught off guard and fell backwards onto the sand. Without him holding her up she fell back onto the sand and was startled. Ness was just as shocked and wasn't sure what to do.

"... Peach?" he asked. The princess rubbed her eyes and sat straight up.

"Ness?" she asked. She seemed to have recognized the boy's voice. "It is you!"

"Yeah... And uh... That's Ike," said Ness with a nervous tone. He pointed behind her.

"Oh?" said Peach. She turned around to see a defeated Ike lying down on his back with a big, red mark on his left cheek. "Oh... Oops..."

"Ha ha... I'm sure he'll be fine. It is Ike after all," said Ness. The swordsman shook his head and sat up next to Peach.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry! I was having a nightmare... I think. I just got so scared that when I woke up I just... Hit the nearest person next to me," said the princess. She tried to smile and was laughing nervously. Ike rubbed the side of his face. Ness started to laugh and Ike glared at him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"... Yeah. It's not like I'll die from it," he replied. He stood up and extended a hand towards Peach to help her up. She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

"Oh my... There's sand all over my dress..." said Peach. She bent this way and that way to dust off her shoulders and her skirt. She shook her head to get rid of the sand in her hair and fixed it afterwards. Ness had gone over and gotten her crown and handed it to her after she was done. "Thank you, Ness," said the princess as she placed it neatly back on her head. The young boy smiled at her but then his attention was caught by a muffled sound.

"Hey... What's that sound?" he asked. Both Ike and Peach stopped what they were doing and opened their ears. There was a small sound coming from somewhere... And it sounded awfully familiar. Ness look down at where Peach was originally found and saw that in her shadow was a pink blob. He took a step back and let out a scream.

"Aah! What is that?!" he cried. Peach was puzzled at first but then looked down at where Ness was looking and also began to scream.

"Eek! It's a slime monster!" she cried. Ike frowned. Two people were making his ears ring and he wasn't liking it one bit. He walked past the two of them and knelt down by the flat, pink blob.

"I know this blob. You two should, too," said Ike. The two of them were confused. Ike merely lifted an arm and gently but forcefully poked the blob. It felt squishy and elastic. Peach and Ness both seemed a bit grossed out because he was touching it. The blob then made a sound. Ness was frantic.

"It's alive!" he cried. He once again stirred up the princess and himself and they hugged each other in terror. Ike turned his head.

"Would you two stop screaming? This isn't just any pink blob. It's Kirby," he yelled. When Ike yelled it wasn't like a parent scolding it a child. It was just his regular voice except amplified. The two of them stopped immediately and went back to standing by themselves. Ike grabbed onto the blob and pulled it up out of the sand. Though his grip may have looked painful Kirby's body was elastic enough not to even notice. The little guy was covered in sand and seemed to be passed out. Ike walked back over to the princess and Ness.

"It is Kirby..." said Peach. "But... I don't recall him ever being in the Battle Dome. I only remember certain people being there."

"Are you sure? You certainly did a number on the little guy."

"Hey! I'm not that heavy..." said the princess. She crossed her arms and pouted at Ike's rude comment. He tossed Kirby over to her and she caught him in her arms.

"Do you mind carrying him? You should watch him until he wakes up," said Ike. Peach nodded.

"Yes. Of course," she replied. "By the way... Do you two know where we are?" she asked.

"Yep. I only know where we are as in the geography but... I don't know where we are by name," said Ness. Ike began to walk down the shore with Ragnell back on his shoulders. Both Peach and Ness noticed this and began to follow him. Ike turned his head slightly.

"We shouldn't stick around this place anymore after the ruckus you both made," he said to them. They both began to laugh nervously. At least Ike and Ness found two people they know. Where was everyone else? Ike was actually pretty uncomfortable down here on the shore. He felt... Fearful. _"Why does it feel like... Someone is watching...?"_ he thought to himself.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**


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